Clear shots don’t fall for the Cougars

Another decent start by the Chemainus Cougars wasn’t reflected in the final score during their last senior boys basketball league game of the season.

The Cougars were leading the host Duncan Christian School Chargers 6-4 in the first five minutes last Tuesday. But things started to come unraveled rather quickly during the last five minutes of the opening quarter, as the Cougars fell behind 18-8 and eventually went on to lose 69-39.

“Our shots just weren’t falling in the hoop (today),” noted Chemainus assistant coach Graeme Arkell. “It is especially unlucky because our boys did a good job using their speed and passes to open up time and space for us to have clear shots.

“With so many shots ricocheting off the hoop, we had numerous opportunities to grab offensive rebounds. And, although the effort was there to rush towards the hoop, the other team’s taller players effectively boxed us out. We’ll be focusing on shooting drills in upcoming practices in order to improve our team’s shooting.”

The Chargers put on a full court press during the early stages that Chemainus actually handled fairly well in the beginning, breaking through with crisp passes to the open man. But the longer the Chargers kept pressing, the more problems it caused for the Cougars later in the opening quarter.

The second quarter was dominated by DCS with a 16-9 point advantage before the Cougars tightened things up again and were left with just a 17-13 scoring shortfall in the third quarter. DCS doubled Chemainus 18-9 in the fourth quarter to complete the win.

Mark Harris played a great game for the Cougars with 13 points that included two three-pointers and three free throws. Matt Simpson had eight points, Jack Miller added seven, Will Ngenda had six, Shammie Mahon scored a three-pointer and Austin Webb contributed a deuce to the total.

DCS spread its scoring well throughout the lineup.

Arkell indicated the Cougars’ defensive play in running a 2-3 zone without taking many fouls was a strength as well as good hustle from fast-paced running and moving feet quickly to get into defensive positions.

Wild scramble ensues for the ball against DCS, with Chemainus’ Jack Miller right in the middle of it. (Photo by Don Bodger)

Ball gets stuck on the backboard during the Chemainus Cougars’ game at DCS. (Photo by Don Bodger)